suggestions for new pc

[Guest]

Hello, I am a newbie here and have read alot of post. Basically I wanted to know if anyone can help me with some recommendations on a new pc. I have checked with so many different stores on what to build and everyone knocks what I had picked out claiming that they have better suggestions. I just want an honest straight forward answer on what would make a good pc. I will be using it for gaming, internet browsing and other apps. like ms office. I have a amd k62-500, ibm deskstar 20gig hd, creative sb live sound card, diamond v770 32mb vid. card and plextor 12/10/32 cdrw. I originally was thinking of getting the amd 1.2ghz with the asus a7v mb, sb live platinum and a gforce2 vid. card. I only have $1200 to spend, so any suggestions on what I should get would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for such long post.

 

[Arrow]

Are you planning to build a completely new system? Or are you going to transfer some components out of the old one into the new one? That may make a big difference when it comes to total price. In any case, go with AMD - much better value than Intel.

Rob
Please visit <b><A HREF="http://www.ncix.com/shop/index.cfm?affiliateid=319048" target="_new">http://www.ncix.com/shop/index.cfm?affiliateid=319048</A></b>

 

[Guest]

I was going to keep a few things, I can of course upgrade things like the hard drive and sound card down the road. I was thinking that I mainly need to worry about a new case,
power supply, motherboard, cpu and more memory. The system I have now just drags and I would really like to speed things up.

 

[dhlucke]

I like the Asus a7v. Try the new A7V133 and get an ultra100 harddrive. I can tell the difference (dramatically) between ultra33 and 100, but I'm not sure about 66. I'd still get the Ultra100 though. If I had the cash i'd get the t-bird 1.2 ghz -C which is 266FSB. I got a Duron 800 to run smooth with 300W. Not sure if the T-Bird needs that much more. From what I've read, you want good memory so that you can avoid problems. Cas2 PC133 should do. I got mine running great with generic memory though so it might depend on if you want to overclock. As far as a burner, I like the HP but I've heard good stuff about the plextor. The SB live is what I use and it's fine for a 2 speaker setup with a sub. It's more than enough in my opinion.

 

[crapple0]

IMHO,

get a medium-priced athlon/duron motherboard, the best cpu you can afford, and cheapish memory. You'd get a bigger kick out of an extra 50MHz CPU instead of CAS-2 memory.

Unless you play Quake III, your video card should be adequate, but count on upgrading it soon. If you want a new video card now, go with a 32MB GeForce 2 GTS...the MX is marginally cheaper, and it's really castrated; while the 64MB and Ultra GeForce 2's are waaaay too expensive.

All around, that should come to about $500-600, even if you get a 1.2 GHz tbird AND the GeForce.

~Crapple0

"intel inside, idiot outside"

 

[Guest]

ok, after spending countless hours reading more reviews throughout the forum and the web I think I've finally got my choices, tell me what you think, Asus a7v133, cas2 256mb, amd t-bird 1.2ghz and Antec SX-830 case. I'll just use my old diamond 32mb video card and SB live sound card till I can figure out which is the best video card to get. Do you think this will make a good system? I figure I can buy these items for around $750. Sound about right?
Thanks for the replies, this forum is great!

 

[amdchuck]

sounds pretty good to me, one thing I would mention though, you simply put Cas2 256MB.

I would stress to make sure this memory is rated to run CAS 2@133Mhz not Cas 2@100Mhz and Cas 3 at 133Mhz which is common. Also generic memory should be avoided as it is generic, you never know where there stuff came from, some may work fine, some may not, save yourself the headache, Corsair, Mushkin and Crucial all make quality product.

Also, add a hundred or so bucks to your budget and get ample aftermarket cooling, you will not regret it.

 

[Guest]

good deal, corsair is the brand I was looking at, as far as fans go, what and how many do you suggest, I've heard alot about Tai-Sol.

 

[phsstpok]

That's quite a budget for just an upgrade.

I like the KT7/KT7-RAID and the KT7A/KT7-RAID is even better as it is completely jumperless for normal usage and overclocking. These boards also support 4-way interleave for really effeicient use of RAM. A7V does not support this yet. Wait for the Athlon C, mid-Feb according to one vendor. Get good memory. Crucial is running a special at $112 for 256 MB, CAS2, PC-150 (I think it's PC-150). Get the KT7A if you don't need RAID and save an IRQ or KT7A-RAID if you need RAID or want 8 drive capability. WWW.geforcefaq.com recommends a power supply that can support +3.3 volt at 20 amps for Athlon + Geforce combination. (This requirement is for Geforce256. I don't know how much Geforce 2 GTS,etc. need). Enermax, Fotron, Sparkle, and Antec PSU are good. In general, you have to go up to a 350 watt unit to meet the above requirement.

Good luck with your purchase.

 

[slvr_phoenix]

I'd just like to make one suggestion.

Sure, a fast CPU kicks butt.

But most gaming power now a day is in the graphics card.

So my personal suggestion would be to get like 700MHz chip and overclock it (or not if you don't want to) and get a GeForce 2 Ultra. I think it'd probably perform better for gaming. And for things like Word, does anyone need a 1.2GHz anyway?

It's just that the Athlons (T-Birds) are so easy to overclock, so that's what I personally would be looking to do anyway. Just because it says it's a 100MHz FSB doesn't mean it can't do 133.

And if it were me me only motherboard requirement would be that it isn't a VIA chipset motherboard.

Besides, if you're going to get new memory and a new motherboard, get a DDR SDRAM system. It should make a difference in performance and it shouldn't be all that much more expensive.

But again, that's just me. I suggest that you do whatever makes the most sense to you.

- Sanity is purely based on point-of-view.